….the most famous monument in Toronto has to be the CN Tower
Visible across the lake from the west end of the city.
From the Gardiner Expressway.
From inside the Dome at the baseball game.
From the base looking up at night.
For more ‘monumental’ photos check out WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument
….a recent trip to the AGO gave me some great material for odd ball photos
Apologies to my regular followers who’ve already seen these images but they were the ‘oddest’ ones I could fine. This installation piece is by the artist David Altmejd and can be seen on the 5th floor of the AGO in Toronto.
For more odd photos go to Cee’s odd ball photo challenge.
….especially the first morning of daylight savings time
People have a hard time adjusting to the change in time, especially when the clocks are moved forward. It means one hour less sleep unless you talked yourself into going to bed one hour earlier. I’m thankful that the time change occurred during March Break. At least it gives us (the teachers) and the kids a week to adjust to the earlier hour in the morning.
Today I woke up at my usual time but it was actually an hour later, so had it been a school day I would have been late. We had prearranged to meet our youngest daughter at the AGO this morning when the gallery first opens which is 10:00. I basically had time to grab a cup of coffee, get dressed and put on some make-up before heading out the door. We discovered on our last trip that arriving when the AGO opens on a Sunday is a good time to go. It’s not crowded, the kids haven’t arrived yet (especially during March Break) and parking is free until 1:00.
My husband was struggling a bit to get going today but he quickly found his groove and the change in time hasn’t bothered him, yet. As we were walking towards the entrance we spotted our daughter coming up the street. Perfect timing. I went to the members’ desk, picked up our tickets and we deposited our coats at the coat check counter. For the rest of the morning we wandered leisurely throughout the galleries. There is no big show on right now so we enjoyed some of the smaller displays throughout the building.
One of the first things we came across was a display put on by Hot Wheels.
It was obviously there for the kids to enjoy but we were invited to play if we wanted. We graciously declined the invitation and made our way to the galleries where photographs were being displayed. Our daughter studied photography at university and my husband used to be a photography fan in his younger days. As he gets older he plays with his camera more often and he still appreciates the art of photography, especially some of the older black and white photographs.
Next to one of the rooms that housed some very interesting and very old photographs I came across a room designed for kids. The walls were lined with some famous paintings that featured children and in the middle of the room stood a booth. Children could dress up and then sit behind a frame with a painted scene behind them (I think it’s from one of the Group of Seven). Parents are encouraged to take photographs of their children who look like they’re part of a painting. I wanted to do it myself but I don’t think my husband or daughter would humour me and take a photograph. There were hardly any children there at the time so I think I could have gotten away with it.
Once we had exhausted all the photography galleries we headed upstairs to the 5th floor to check out the contemporary exhibits. My favourite installation piece took up an entire room and featured mirrors, trees, birds, (real and not) and half man half bird creatures. It was called The Index and was the creation of David Altmejd.
We decided to walk down to the other floors. The stairway had beautiful architectural curves made from wood and was built on the side of the building with glass windows that looked out over the city. I love the curves, arches and the grain in the wood along the ledges. The second floor has huge stone arches that overlook the foyer on the first floor which is also surrounded with these large archways.
Before leaving the AGO we stopped at the Galleria Italia (here, here) for our traditional coffee break at the Espresso Bar. I really wanted to check out the gift shop so I left my husband and daughter at the table so that they could catch up and make plans for the week while I headed to the main floor to do a bit of shopping. I had a little bit of money from the library fund so I bought a few art books for school and I found a present to bring to my sister in Calgary.
When we left the art gallery we were ready for lunch (brunch in my case because I hadn’t had breakfast). We drove along Queen St East and headed toward Leslieville where we found a tiny Irish pub. Our daughter had been there before but for my husband and I it was a new experience. G and I ordered and shared mushrooms on toast and the terrine plate while my husband ordered his traditional Irish breakfast.
After our meal we drove our daughter home and then headed out to see our oldest daughter. We stayed just long enough to have a cup of coffee and pick up a parcel notification. Sometime tomorrow I’ll drive to Purolator and pick up a parcel for her.
When we got home it was already 4:00. Time just flew by. Looks like we’ll be eating salad for dinner. It’s already 6:00 and I’m still full from my one meal today. This should be my last post today. Hopefully I can get to some of my art. If I do I’ll share with you tomorrow. No more staying up late to post things that can wait till tomorrow.
Cheers!
…..even though this is a PA day without pay it couldn’t come soon enough
The sun is shining, the temperature is warmer, I didn’t have to get up at 6:30, my husband made me a perfect omelet and I got out for a long walk with the dog and K this morning. Heavenly!
I leave for Calgary next week so I was hoping to get my hair cut before I go but when I phoned to make an appointment my regular hairdresser, who I haven’t seen in months, was booked solid until next Friday. Boo hoo! I’ve been going to a young woman just up the street and even though she does a pretty good job, the last time I went I wasn’t 100% satisfied. Well it must be my lucky day because the salon called back and told me that D had a cancellation. Yahoo!
Driving into town in the middle of the afternoon wasn’t bad and finding a place to park was relatively easy. I think a lot of people have already left town for March Break vacations. It was great to see D again. She was off for awhile planning her wedding and going on her honeymoon and that’s why I went elsewhere for a couple of cuts. The salon by the way is Brennan DeMelo on Adelaide St., if you’re interested.
As soon as D saw me see she knew exactly what I needed and could see why I wasn’t that happy with the last cut. The big news in her life is that soon after her wedding she got pregnant. She planned it that way just in case it took awhile to get pregnant. Well I guess it didn’t and she looks like she’s having twins, although the ultrasound showed only one baby. Her baby is due on August 28th which just so happens to be my birthday.
I’m happy for her but I was wondering if I was going to have to look for a new hairdresser when the baby is born but she assured me that she was coming back, even if it is only a few hours a week. I’ll really have to book in advance. I love my new haircut. It’s a bit shorter than the last cut. To fix the problem D had to cut more away but I don’t mind. I think the new cut looks great.
What’s next on the agenda. I’m not sure. We’re thinking about going to the movies tonight and tomorrow we’re hoping to go to the museum (ROM) and Sunday looks like a good day to check out the AGO (art gallery). The one thing I am sure about, though is going for long walks every morning as long as this nice weather holds out.
…..yes and it was amazing
A week ago I had the pleasure of attending a concert in the afternoon that featured an up and coming star in the music world who plays the recorder. His name is Vincent Lauzer and he graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. In 2012, he won the First Prize during the Stepping Stone of the Canada Music Competition and the Career Development Award from the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. These are just a couple of awards that he has won and after watching his performance I can see why. I can’t really write a review that would adequately critique the actual performance so I have added a link for a review written by Margaret Lam over at Musical Toronto.
Much of the performance featured Baroque music but Vincent did include some contemporary pieces which I really enjoyed. When browsing Youtube I could only find videos of the more classical recorder scores. Here is one that I think will give you a pretty good idea of Lauzer’s skill on the recorder. Enjoy!
….and my daughter and son-in-law
Today was another sunny but cold day in Toronto and it is Family Day. It is an official holiday in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. As the name implies it is a day to celebrate families.
Yesterday my husband and I went to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) with out oldest daughter, A and her partner, J and saw the show, The Great Upheaval: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collection, 1910 – 1918. I loved it. It’s not a huge show but it featured some amazing artists from the past, such as, Picasso, Kandinsky, Matisse, Chagall, Franz Marc, Kupka and Miro. There must have been at least 30 different artists whose works were on display. It was fascinating to see how this era of new technologies ( film, photography, planes, telephones, electricity, etc.) and the presence of World War I affected the art world. If you’re in Toronto the show goes till March 6, 2014. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed at this show so I don’t have any original photos to show you. The Great Upheaval.
After seeing the show we browsed through some of the other galleries at the AGO, where you are allowed to take photographs. Here are a few highlights of our morning.
Today, my husband, Frances and I arranged to meet our youngest daughter and her husband and Lucy at High Park. We took both dogs to the off leash area. We’ve had so much snow that all the paths are packed solid with snow and ice. Luckily K brought his cleats for his boots and our walk was relatively uneventful, falling that is. We did see a few people wipe out but no serious injuries happened.
Frances and Lucy had a great time, running and wrestling with each other. We got a good walk, as well, probably close to 4k. The humans got tired just watching those two dogs darting back and forth.
After looking at all this snow it’s hard to imagine that another storm is approaching us tonight and we’re expecting another 10 cm to fall. Sigh!
Cheers! Hope everyone had a great Family Day!
….all the conditions were perfect this morning
Sunny, clear sidewalks and roads, very little wind and temperatures above -10 degrees celsius. I didn’t even wear my down parka but a hat and mittens were still necessary.
It felt like ‘old times’ with my husband and I taking Frances for a walk. There’s still a lot of snow in the park and on peoples properties but walkways have been cleared and there are lots of packed down paths in the park. Frances loved running back and forth on the rugby pitch and exploring the creek (luckily it’s completely frozen over). We stopped to get a coffee but the Tim Horton’s on the campus grounds was closed for reading week.
We decided to take a bit of detour and go to Rabba to pick up a few items for breakfast at home. Good decision. We made a pot of coffee and cooked up some eggs and sausages and served them on a wrap with tomato and avocado slices. Delicious!
A great start to a beautiful day. By the way our walk covered 4 kilometres.
….from a distance we thought it was a really bad snowman
This classic old building “The Flat Iron Building” in downtown Toronto was the focus of this shot but one can’t help but see the modern skyscrapers that hover behind it.
This is a quirky coffee shop in Queen St. West. Part of the decor includes a wall of art with old classroom desks used as tables and a hobby horse for added measure.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/photo-challenge-juxtaposition/
Today’s assignment: create and upload a simple header, or test out a few different backgrounds.
Todays post is going to be short. I’m constantly changing my header and I just recently put the present header in place so I’m not changing my header today. I’m just not feeling it. A while back I discovered that I could change my background and I went from a solid colour to a bin of yellow peppers to what I have now which is a piece of my artwork. Not everything you’ll try will work. Simple and bold seems to work best. Anything with a lot of detail just gets lost behind your text box.
Today’s Job
Today I spent a lot of time in the kitchen cleaning and putting away the things that tend to get left out on the counter. I also swept up all the pine needles from the Christmas tree that the garbage truck finally picked up today. One box of ornaments has been packed up and the Christmas stockings have all been removed from the living room. It’s a slow process but I’ll do a little bit everyday until it’s done. Hopefully the last of the decorations will be safely packed away by the end of the weekend.
Update on the heating problem at school:
The library was nice and warm today but the custodian did say that it was pretty cold in the morning when he arrived. His solution was to turn off all the fans and that did the trick. The fans seemed to be pulling in the cold air from the outside. The kindergarten rooms now have heat but two of the portables were still without heat early this morning. One of the classes spent half the day in the library again but by the afternoon the problem was fixed.
I was outside for a short spell this morning and I walked through the halls during first recess but my goal to move has been seriously hampered by the weather. The temperatures, however, have been getting warmer everyday so hopefully tomorrow I can resume my walking routine without any fear of getting frostbite.
Till tomorrow, cheers!
Mama Cormier 